Category Archives: art + design

Artist and illustrator, Erin Forsyth draws inspiration from the nature that surrounds us in her latest work. Carefully researched over 18 months; Erin illustrates key characteristics of threatened species of land and forest, the ecological relationships sustaining them and which, in turn, they sustain. Check it out this Artweek Auckland.

Describe your piece of work / installation in three words

Flora, fauna, taonga

What inspired it?

Rediscovering the link between cultural and biological diversity, or people and the natural environment. Each work illustrates key characteristics of rare and beautiful endemic species, the key ecological relationships that sustain them and which, in turn, they sustain.

What’s your creative process?

This particular series is research based. So before I begin a piece I will spend some time accessing and compiling information about a species or genus, and looking for strong reference images to work from. Often species are so rare that there are limited images available so I will use any number of photographs and information from my readings to work out the anatomical structure. I am learning as I paint and draw, not just about the species but about human impact, responsibility and relationships to them. The natural environment of Aotearoa, New Zealand holds so many remarkable creatures found nowhere else on earth and although I have heard that all my life I am just now beginning to understand how special it is and how important it is for all of us to treasure it. It truly is taonga and it seems urgent that the principles of kaitiakitanga, developed over centuries are understood and applied for prosperity. It’s true I am no expert, but I am making new discoveries every day and I truly feel that it is my responsibility to acknowledge my privilege as an artist to continue learning and to share my discoveries as I make them.

What do you think of the Art scene in Auckland? New Zealand?

The art scene in Auckland just keeps getting stronger. I have been making work professionally for almost 20 years now and am really excited to see it in it’s current phase of development. There are so many cultures and sub-cultures at home here. For a long time people have talked about Auckland being diverse but it feels like it’s taken until now to hear a diversity of voices come through. It seems partially by the deliberate effort of art institutions but also because people are quite rightly refusing to be ignored. In many ways the advent of social media seems to have activated a lot of necessary conversations about and provided a space for, unpacking cultural dissonance and celebrating difference. It’s been really important and I think that it’s having a huge impact not only on what we see in galleries but who. To me this difference is our strength and it’s great to see a programme such as Artweek Auckland in place to promote this diversity in visibility, and provide a common ground or network, which is just so essential in this phase of development.

Are there any artists / pieces of work that you’re looking forward to seeing this year?

I am still plotting out my calendar for this year but I have to say I’m really looking forward to my partner Joshua Solomon’s performance as part of Late Night Art this year. Last year he tattooed Dominic ‘Tourettes’ Hoey as Dom did a poetry reading. It really pushed the possibilities of what could happen and this year looks to push it even further. I can’t say much more, but check it out, it will be worth it.

What is your social media of choice?

Hm I wish I could opt out… Can I say emails? Bullet pointed emails. Haha, seriously though I’m on Instagram and Facebook.

My Instagram gets most of my attention and you can see some of my works in progress and some of my research up on there. But I kind of feel like I’m not that good at it and I definitely despise the fact that a work I may have spent a month making is subject to the same critique as someone’s…body parts! It’s a very reductive algorithm in that way…

Chris ‘Chippy’ Hutchinson is an illustrator, graphic artist and printmaker based in Auckland. He works on freelance projects and manages a small illustration and Risograph printing studio called Inky Palms.

This Artweek Auckland, the crew from Inky Palms will venture down from K’Road to the Central City Library and try their hands at taking their typically zine-bound Risograph printed concoctions from the page to the wall in a playful paste-up paper street mural celebrating reading, writing, drawing and the form of the book in all its guises, drawing inspiration from the City Library’s Heritage collection.

Describe your piece of work / installation in three words

Risograph Paper Paradise.

What inspired it?

The Central City Library Heritage collection.

What’s your creative process?

Drawing heaps of little creatures.

Are there any artists / pieces of work that you’re looking forward to seeing this year?

I know the Paper Assassins art collective have an exhibition on during Artweek.

Since completing his Masters at the Elam School of Fine Arts, artist Richard Orjis has exhibited his work both locally and internationally. In 2016, he was the Tylee Cottage Artist in Residence at the Sarjeant Gallery in Whanganui and earlier this year, he was the Asisa New Zealand Foundation artist in residence at Rimbun Dahan in Malaysia. His work is held in private and public collections including: The University of Auckland, the Jenny Gibbs Collection (Auckland), the University of Auckland (Auckland), Auckland Council (Auckland), The Film Archive (Wellington), The Wallace Trust collection (Auckland) and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport Collection (Madrid, Spain).

His new work will explore the fundamental concept of connection and how everything can be perceived as intrinsically linked. Check it out as part of Artweek Auckland.

Describe your piece of work / installation in three words

Queer

Nature

Connectivity

What inspired it?

Connections with people through conversations, history and art

What’s your creative process?

It can be varied, but basically, it’s a process of absorbing the world around me and creating works of art as a result of that collecting.

What do you think of the Art scene in Auckland? New Zealand?

I think it’s vibrant, active and keyed into a global discourse. It is also aware of its unique position in the Southern hemisphere.

Are there any artists / pieces of work that you’re looking forward to seeing this year?

Working with installation, social and interactive media, Changing Lanes will transform Auckland’s urban space this Artwork Auckland. Zee Shake Lee’s ‘I lost myself when I found you’ will take over Exchange Lane from 7 October – 15 October.

Describe your piece of work / installation in three words
intriguing, slow, puzzling

What inspired it?
I used to grow up with my grandparents and I remember there was a concrete well at the courtyard of their old house. One day, out of curiosity, I stood on my tiptoes to find out what was inside. Out of my expectation, I surprisingly saw myself in the sky. As a kid, I always wanted to touch the sky. Without hesitation I instantaneously picked up some stones and threw them one by one into the well: to make ripples, to disrupt the sky and watch it forming back all over again. In that way, I felt like I could touch the sky. One night, my grandfather told me he kept the moon in the well. I doubted. So I ran to check if it was true. The moon was indeed kept inside. It was the first time I saw myself being so close to the moon. ‘How did you do that? Tell me!’ I asked excitedly. I Lost Myself When I Found You adapts the idea of looking down in order see what is above and beyond; and it’s about the emotional distance between the unreachable.

What’s your creative process?
Messy, heaps of zoning out while staring at things, lots of questionings and conversations, and work in different mediums.

What do you think of the Art scene in Auckland? New Zealand?
There are certainly some good vibes, inspiring efforts and momentum, but simultaneously there are many constraints and holdbacks. Personally I think we don’t do enough.

Are there any artists / pieces of work that you’re looking forward to seeing this year?
Umbra by Anne Noble / OO_ by Elliot Morgan and Michael McCabe / Colin McCahon: On The Road.

The ongoing presence of orange road cones littered around Auckland were the obvious choice of material for artist, Ernest Auora’s latest work.

KINAlights is an expression of Auckland’s marine life and its volcanic typography. Combined with rhythmic LED lighting, its impression portrays the appearance of a living organism.

Describe your piece of work / installation in three words…
Exploding lava splash.

What inspired it?
Auckland’s topography – surrounding volcanoes, the kina urchin which represents the marine life around the harbour, and the ongoing presence of orange road cones that impacts Aucklanders’ in one way or another on a daily basis.

What’s your creative process?
Understanding the ‘story’ and its context. Picking out its key characteristics and re-interpreting its language in a new light. Then taking those ideas through my development process which includes research, lots of hand drawings and model making mock-ups to finish up with a final product that hopefully reflects the original concept.

What do you think of the Art scene in Auckland? New Zealand?
I think events like Artweek Auckland are great injectors in promoting the art scene here. It’s a great platform to promote artists current and new to the scene which it’s healthy for Auckland and NZ in general. Art has a way to define our identity in a diverse way, which reflects the diversity of our cultures. In that regard I think our art scene just gets better each year.

Mardo El-Noor is a chai-latte drinking, left-handed, hybrid creative. Armed with a Masters in Art & Design (AUT), Mardo’s work can be found globally.

New Zealand music lovers will be familiar with his conceptual music videos, including ‘Shine’ by the Modern Māori Quartet, ‘Treat you better’ by Theia, ‘Sunday’s best clothes’ by Opshop, ‘Hometown’ by Salmonella Dub, and ‘Jump’ by Kings. He’s also made three animated short films, screening at NZIFF and other film festivals around the world.

Mardo’s most recent work; a series of ground-breaking images with renowned political commentator and editorial cartoonist, Tom Scott (ONZM) can be found in the NZ Parliament Buildings and (next year) at the Waikato Museum.

Mardo was 2016’s ART Venture recipient, an acceleration programme for experienced creative entrepreneurs working in Auckland.

This Artweek Auckland, check out Mardo’s hyper-real photo-illustrations depicting people as characters in elaborately staged scenes that tell their personal stories.

Describe your piece of work in three words
Family-friendly David LaChappelle.

Baby by Mardo El-Noor

What inspired it?
People. People. People. Everyone has a story but not everyone is a storyteller. I’m a curator of people’s stories.

What’s your creative process?
I depict people as characters in elaborately staged, highly-detailed scenes that tells their personal stories (Imagine a freeze-frame in a non-existing movie, with you as the star!). The process starts with a conversation/interview, which leads to a pitch of a sketch, then a photoshoot, then a long post-production process.

Havana by Mardo El-Noor

What do you think of the Art scene in Auckland? New Zealand?
I’m not familiar with it – as my background is in commercial art & advertising. New Zealand market is quite small, which makes it easier to stand out.

Unnamed by Mardo El-Noor

What is your social media of choice?
Facebook. You can customise your newsfeed to follow all your fave websites (& block out all social noise from ‘friends’)

Who do you follow and where?
I mainly follow trending videos on Vimeo, Nowness & the likes. Behance is a huge source of inspiration too.

Ann Shelton, originally from Timaru, is one of New Zealands foremost female photojournalists; Her hyper-real large-scale works blur the lines between documentary and fine art photography, and have received international acclaim.

‘This Air is a Material’ provides wondeful insight into Ann Shelton’s vast bodies of work, with input from other industry professionals (artists, writers, etc.) whom provide further observations (some full of wisdom) in regards to her work. Driven by Becky Nunes (Photographer and Director), ‘This Air is a Material’ pays close attention to many finer details, and delves into Shelton’s work thoroughly, notably the historical and conceptual importance of said work.

Relevant to any creative – especially those in New Zealand – I would highly reccomend this for your DocEdge 17 shortlist.

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